Stolen Valor-- How Will Mark Kirk Vote?

Valor stealers

Yesterday the House voted 390-3 on a Stolen Valor bill sponsored by Nevada Republican Joe Heck. The 3 oddballs who voted NO were Justin Amash (R-MI), Paul Broun (R-GA) and Tom Massie (R-KY). The actual Stolen Valor Act was written by then-Congressman John Salazar (D-CO) and passed in 2006 and signed by George W. Bush. It passed both Houses of Congress unanimously. Salazar's bill made it illegal for unauthorized persons to wear, buy, sell, barter, trade, or manufacture "any decoration or medal authorized by Congress for the armed forces of the United States, or any of the service medals or badges awarded to the members of such forces." The right-wing Supreme Court struck the bill down as a violation of the First Amendment, claiming, essentially, that lying about military honors is a right to free expression.

Heck tries getting around that by outlawing lies about military honors with the "intent to obtain money, property or other tangible benefit." When Heck introduced it last year it passed despite opposition from libertarian crackpots Ron Paul and Justin Amash (and a refusal to vote on it by GOP extremists Paul Ryan, Todd Akin and Paul Broun). The Senate never took it up-- because Scott Brown (R-MA) had his own version and screwed up the works-- and it passed yesterday.

There are more people claiming to have been awarded the Medal of Honor than who actually were really awarded the Medal of Honor. It's a touchy matter for Republicans since many of their candidates-- including current Illinois Senator Mark Kirk-- have been guilty of making false claims of military valor.

The Republican candidate for President Obama's old Senate seat has admitted to inaccurately claiming he received the U.S. Navy's Intelligence Officer of the Year award for his service during NATO's conflict with Serbia in the late 1990s.

Rep. Mark Kirk, a Navy reservist who was elected to Congress in 2001, acknowledged the error in his official biography after The Washington Post began looking into whether he had received the prestigious award, which is given by top Navy officials to a single individual annually.

...In a message on his blog, Kirk wrote that "upon a recent review of my records, I found that an award listed in my official biography was misidentified" and that the award he had intended to list was given to his unit, not to him individually.

Kirk was assigned to a unit based in Aviano, Italy, during the conflict. A professional group, the National Military Intelligence Association, gave the unit an award for outstanding service, according to a revised résumé posted on Kirk's Web site Saturday.

The association's Vice Admiral Rufus L. Taylor Award celebrates "the exceptional achievements of an outstanding Naval Intelligence career professional," but the citation in 2000 contains no mention of Kirk and instead designates the entire Intelligence Division Electronic Attack Wing at Aviano.

Kirk, whose campaign has emphasized his military service as a reservist, similarly misstated the award during a House committee hearing in March 2002. In a remark recorded by C-Span, he said, "I was the Navy's Intelligence Officer of the Year," an achievement he depicted as providing special qualifications to discuss national security spending.

Eric Elk, a spokesman for Kirk's campaign, declined to comment except to say "we found the award was misidentified and corrected the name."

Kathleen Strand, communications director for the Giannoulias campaign, said Friday that Kirk "is lying or embellishing his military record," making him "the worst kind of Washington politician."

These kinds of lies about military service are almost routine for conservatives. Kirk wasn't prosecuted because the Supreme Court had invalidated the law.

UPDATE: The Shameless Lindsey Graham

Here's what Lindsey Graham had to say in 2005 about the Stolen Valor Act: "You are trying to steal an image that other people sacrificed for. It's one of the worst things you can do. These medals are given for specific acts of extraordinary courage. To steal that is an unbelievable act of cowardice and betrayal."

Graham, always trying to appear macho to help coverup his miserable closeted existence, has falsely and repeatedly claimed to be a Gulf War veteran. He served as a military attorney during the war... but never left South Carolina... and never fought with anyone unless Ricky Martin ever wrestled with him in bed. He still publicly refers to himself as “an Operation Desert Shield and Desert Storm veteran.”